Houston resident Hervis Rogers went viral in March 2020 after he waited for six hours to cast his vote in the Texas Democratic primary.
“It is insane, but it’s worth it,” Rogers said while waiting in line at the time. “I mean, I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t vote. I feel like it’s— I voice my opinion, but it don’t feel right if I don’t vote. So I said, ‘I’m going to take a stand and vote. It might make a difference.’”
Now, according to Houston Public Media, Rogers is being prosecuted by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office for allegedly voting illegally.
Rogers was on parole at the time he voted, and Texas law prohibits him from participating in elections.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for burglary and intent to commit theft in 1995, Houston Public Media reports. He was released on parole in May 2004. His parole was set to end on June 13, 2020.
He was arrested on Wednesday and charged with two counts of illegal voting. His bail is set at $100,000.
Rogers is represented by the ACLU of Texas and Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube.
“Mr. Rogers is being held in jail on an extremely high bail amount that he cannot afford for what amounts to simply attempting to fulfill his civic duty. This is not justice,” said ACLU of Texas legal director Andre Segura.
Sadly, this is not the first time this has happened in Texas.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has made prosecuting alleged cases of voter fraud a core mission of his office. Between 2005 and 2008 more than 130 people have been prosecuted including Crystal Mason a mother of three who voted while on federal supervised release. Mason did not know that she was not allowed to vote. She was sentenced to five years in prison for casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election.
